David_Stucenski Webboard User Reg: 09-05-2006
Posts: 39
Loc: Massachusetts
Offline
I was wondering what the opinon of having a fight(bite) or ball at the end on a track. My entire patrol school we had the decoy have a ball at the end. Some officers I have talked to say they have a bite thrown in to increase the drve to find the decoy. Second is how often to have the bite say out of ten tracks? I have a two year old Mal with good drive to track and all of his training tracks were a find.
Thanks
I don't know much about tracking, but if you are doing any civilian tracking (searching for missing persons, not perpetrators) it seems to me a bite at the end of a track would be asking for trouble. What if you were to track down and locate a frightened child who screamed and ran when you found her?
I know search and rescue folks do balls/cookies at the end of the tracks and have good results with that. Still a lot of drive to find what they're looking for.
Brad . Martin Webboard User Reg: 09-14-2005
Posts: 587
Loc: Ontario, Canada
Offline
David,
The police that I have shadowed on training days do sometimes have a bite at the end of track, for the very reason you mentioned - to increase drive. In addition it will not be such a shock to the dog when the "playmate" at the end of the track tries to fight when applying successful training in the field.
As I recall it was no more than 1/10 tracks after basic training had been completed and the dog was at its posting. The other thing I will note is that the cops I watched always held the dog back and gave the decoy the opportunity to surrender; during training the dog was never just sent in to attack. If you'd like a bit more info I can PM you with other details.
Howard Knauf Webboard User Reg: 09-24-2003
Posts: 1555
Loc: Melbourne, Florida
Offline
David,
Brad's experiences pretty much mirrors my training. I always used a different command when tracking for the bite as opposed to a SAR track. Through experience the dog will learn the difference. one thing that can get you in trouble is if you have alot of successful bites at the end of tracks on real suspects. The dog will always want to bite on the find unless you train the different comand for SAR. We have a find and bite policy so the dog is allowed to bite upon contact so its important to train with no bite 90% of the time.
just from a training perspective (and not factoring in the actual deployment scenarios, ie track of a child or alzheimer adult), i think it depends on the dog. as most patrol dogs are selected for their desire to bite, some dogs will be very frantic while tracking in the beginning, anticipating the bite. this can lead to too much air scenting, missed turns, etc. with these types of dogs, a ball in the beginning can be very beneficial. when the dog learns the task (nose down, not much air scenting), then bites can be gradually worked in. as with most tasks, the beginning of the training is most important. if the dog learns bad habits in the beginning, they are much harder to break..
When purchasing any product from Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. it is understood
that any and all products sold by Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. are sold in Dunn
County Wisconsin, USA. Any and all legal action taken against Leerburg Enterprises,
Inc. concerning the purchase or use of these products must take place in Dunn
County, Wisconsin. If customers do not agree with this policy they should not
purchase Leerburg Ent. Inc. products.
Dog Training is never without risk of injury. Do not use any of the products
sold by Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. without consulting a local professional.
The training methods shown in the Leerburg Ent. Inc. DVD’s are meant
to be used with a local instructor or trainer. Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. cannot
be held responsible for accidents or injuries to humans and/or animals.
Copyright 2010 Leerburg® Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. All photos and content on leerburg.com are part of a registered copyright owned by Leerburg Enterprise, Inc.
By accessing any information within Leerburg.com, you agree to abide by the
Leerburg.com Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Fight(bite) or Ball
#121450 - 12/19/2006 09:54 AM 
Top
Re: Fight(bite) or Ball
[Re: David_Stucenski ]
#121462 - 12/19/2006 10:55 AM 
Previous Topic
Index
Next Topic.jpg)
